SEPTA has announced that it has completed its two-months worth of work to repair the overhead wires in its trolley tunnel between Center City and West Philadelphia, writes Sophia Schmidt for WHYY.
Over the past two months, the tunnel closure left about 60,000 daily SEPTA riders to resort to relying on slower bus shuttle service or the Market-Frankford Line. Many had to use the shuttle to travel between 13th Street in Center City and the 40th Street trolley portal in West Philadelphia.
SEPTA closed the tunnel after learning that new pieces used to connect the trolley cars to the overhead wires that power them were degrading at a faster pace than expected. Meanwhile, the lubricating carbon sliders that were supposed to prevent the metal connectors from directly rubbing against the metal wires wore out and became damaged.
As a result, SEPTA has switched back to its old slider style and replaced segments of the wires.
“This is not a common type of repair that comes up,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. “It’s something that really didn’t have a precedent here. … We’ve been learning a lot as we’ve gone along.”
The trolley tunnel is set to reopen on Monday, January 12 at 5 a.m.
Read more about the trolley wire replacements at WHYY.
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